AssuranceSelect 3 Plus with MVA (Truist) review

Yes, with conditions. It is a good annuity for someone who wants a short-term principal-protected contract at a highly rated carrier and does not need a guaranteed income feature. The 3-year structure is real — you are not locked in for long — but the MVA adds a layer of interest-rate risk that makes it less clean than a pure fixed annuity for the same period. Whether it is the right fit depends on your time horizon and how you feel about that variable.

The main reason to buy this product is access to index-linked growth potential over three years without risking principal, through a carrier with an A++ A.M. Best rating. The secondary reason is simplicity — no rider fees, no moving parts beyond the crediting strategies, and a free-withdrawal provision that handles RMDs and routine cash needs cleanly. Someone buying this is typically a more conservative saver at a Truist branch who wants more than a CD rate without the complexity of a longer or more feature-heavy product.

I think this product is best for someone in their 50s or 60s who has a pool of qualified or non-qualified savings they want to park for three years, wants principal protection, and is already a Truist customer or works with a Truist advisor. It works well for someone who does not need lifetime income, is comfortable with a short-but-real commitment, and wants the credibility of a MassMutual company behind the contract. It is not well-suited for someone shopping for income, planning to take large early withdrawals, or comparing it against the open-market version of the same product line.

You are not buying stock market participation. You are buying a 3-year insurance contract where your principal is protected from market losses and you earn interest based on a crediting strategy you choose — whether that is a fixed declared rate, a capped S&P 500 strategy, or one of the index options. The important mechanical point is that indexed interest is credited only at the end of each one-year term. If you surrender mid-term, you do not receive partial-year index credit, and the MVA may adjust your payout further based on how interest rates have moved since issue. That combination — no mid-term credit, plus MVA — is the structural tradeoff at the center of this product.

AssuranceSelect 3 Plus offers six crediting choices. The fixed declared-rate account credits a set interest rate. The S&P 500 one-year point-to-point strategy earns up to a cap if the index finishes the year higher than it started — otherwise it credits zero, not a loss. The iShares MSCI EAFE ETF and iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF strategies work the same way with their respective benchmarks. The First Trust Barclays Edge Index offers two options: a standard participation-rate version and a three-year locked participation rate, which fixes your crediting rate for the full surrender period.

Cap rates on the spec were listed at 6.25% to 8.00% across strategies and rate bands as of March 2026, with fixed account rates of 3.40% to 3.60% depending on premium size. These are the rates at time of extraction — they are declared by the carrier and can change at each annual renewal.

The waiver riders are the most meaningful secondary feature here. The Extended Care Waiver and Terminal Illness Waiver are both included at no additional charge, which is not universal on FIAs at this price point. The Extended Care Waiver allows penalty-free withdrawals if you need long-term care, and the Terminal Illness Waiver applies if you are diagnosed with a terminal condition. These are genuine protections that can make a meaningful difference if circumstances change during the surrender period — and they cost nothing. Note that these riders are not available in Massachusetts and have a modified version in California, so state matters.

The surrender period is three years, which is short in FIA terms. Free withdrawals of up to 10% of purchase payments are allowed in year one, and 10% of account value in each subsequent year, subject to a $500 minimum withdrawal and a $5,000 minimum remaining account value. RMDs are handled through the ESP (Easy Systematic Payment) program, which includes an RMD option, so qualified-account holders can manage distributions without triggering charges.

What makes liquidity more complex here is the market value adjustment. Even on a 3-year product, if you surrender or take excess withdrawals, the MVA can increase or decrease your payout depending on whether interest rates have risen or fallen since your contract was issued. In a rising-rate environment, that could meaningfully add to your effective exit cost beyond the surrender charge alone. This is worth understanding clearly before committing.

There are no base contract fees and no rider fees — this is a clean no-fee structure. The "cost" of this product is structural, not explicit. Upside is capped by strategy caps or participation rates. Indexed interest is only credited at the end of each term. The MVA adds a variable layer to the surrender penalty that most buyers on a 3-year product are not expecting. And the minimum premium of $50,000 is higher than some shorter-duration alternatives, which may limit access for smaller-balance savers.

The cap rates disclosed in the spec (6.25% to 8.00% depending on strategy and rate band) are competitive for a 3-year accumulation FIA at a top-tier carrier, but they are snapshots from early 2026 and will be re-declared annually.

Legal Entity: MassMutual Ascend Life Insurance Company

Parent: Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: A++

MassMutual Ascend is the subsidiary through which Massachusetts Mutual Life — one of the oldest and most financially sound mutual life insurers in the country — issues annuity products. The A++ A.M. Best rating is the highest available and reflects the parent's exceptional financial strength. For buyers who weight carrier creditworthiness heavily, this is a meaningful advantage over many competing short-duration FIAs.